Atos Consulting wins 2009 MCA Award for its work in cutting NHS Waiting Times
Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Operational Performance and Best Public Sector Awards goes to Atos Consulting for dramatically cutting waiting times for NHS South Central patients...
Atos Consulting, a business division of Atos Origin, won the Operational Performance in the Public Sector Award at this year’s MCA Management Awards. Having redesigned patient treatment ‘pathways’, NHS South Central turned to Atos Consulting for help in putting them into effect. Atos Consulting worked alongside clinicians to change practices among front-line staff. As a result, waiting times have been reduced by an average of 14 weeks – and in some cases, by 25 weeks.
Atos Consulting was also a finalist in Technology for the work it did with National Express to develop and manage an on-line retail ticketing solution, WebTIS and a finalist for its International work with the DIFD Nigeria improving service across in health and police.
The prestigious MCA Management Awards identify the best case studies in each of 12 categories, where organisations, in the private or public sector, have achieved a significant improvement in performance with the assistance of management consultants, either in-house or external.
NHS South Central - The challenge...
NHS South Central is one of 10 strategic health authorities in England and serves 4 million people. It’s made up of nine primary care trusts, nine acute trusts, three mental health trusts, one learning disability trust, one specialist and an ambulance trust.
In 2004, the Government decided that no-one should wait longer than 18 weeks from GP referral to hospital treatment. Without additional funding to make this happen, NHS South Central realised it would have to transform the way it delivered patient services if it was to meet this target. Using ‘lean’ principles, it redesigned patient ‘pathways’ – the journey from first seeing a doctor, though diagnosis and on to recovery.
But to put these principles into practice, NHS South Central asked Atos Consulting to work with its nine primary care trusts to deliver 27 redesigned patient pathways – three for each area with high waiting times or particular challenges.
The client also wanted an NHS South Central Academy that would act as a repository of tools and techniques, NHS staff to be trained to deliver improvements over time, and a network of experts who would help with making the changes sustainable.
Redefining just one pathway meant asking up to 30 busy managers and clinicians to co-operate and collaborate. Organisational structures within the NHS also made it difficult to establish ownership of a single pathway from start to finish.
As an early adopter of the Government targets, NHS South Central had to demonstrate significant progress by March 2008.
Delivery...
Atos Consulting designed its own project pathway – an eight-step process to implement lean principles across each pathway. Lean experts from Unipart Expert Practices were brought in and integrated into the project teams. Joint teams of clinicians and consultants worked closely together and, over 20 weeks, successfully gained credibility with frontline staff and helped them to embed innovative new practices. Waiting times have since reduced by an average of 14 weeks – and in some cases, by 25 weeks. At one A&E department, 98% of patients are now treated within four hours.
Paula Sussex, Chief Executive Officer, Atos Consulting
"We are pleased to be a part of Transforming Care with NHS South Central. Our joint success has been built on the back of deploying our specialist consultants to work collaboratively with the NHS South Central teams. This a great achievement and I am proud that Atos Consulting has successfully contributed to these service improvements"
Steve Fairman, Head of Service Improvement, NHS South Central:
“Transforming Care was in many ways a step into the unknown. Its success is a testament to all involved and to Atos Consulting, who brought expertise, professionalism, dedication and flexibility to the task. This is not something that would have happened without their input.”
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Winner of the CIPS Supply Management Awards 2008 for Best public procurement projectrd 2008
Atos Consulting is delighted to announce that its client, the MOD Afloat Support Directorate incorporating Royal Fleet Auxiliary Support and Commercial Ship Maintenance Category Management Team won the award for Best public procurement project at the CIPS (Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply) Supply Management Awards 2008. Read More... |
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MCA Gold Award 2008 - Best Public Sector Project - Reducing Poverty in Leningrad Oblast
Between 2003 and 2007, Atos Consulting led a £5-million programme for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to reduce poverty in Leningrad Oblast. As a result 360,000 people have been lifted out of poverty – 22% of the Oblast’s population.. Read More... |
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MCA Awards 2008 - Finalist - Change Management Category - VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency)
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency is responsible for ensuring that 18,900 garages across Britain carry out MOTs correctly.Working with Atos Consulting, the Agency has transformed the way it supervises the MOT scheme. This will improve road safety and increase consumer protection. The road safety improvements alone are expected to save 21 lives and £55 million over five years. |
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MCA Awards 2008 - Finalist - Human Resources Category - Resolution
Resolution is the UK’s largest specialist manager of life and pension funds. In the last two years, Resolution’s HR team has enabled the company to acquire Abbey National’s Life businesses (with the transfer of 2,000 employees), and then quickly to follow this with the largest-ever insurance sector outsourcing contract in Europe. While all this was happening, the joint team also helped Resolution to reengineer and relocate key finance and actuarial functions to deliver long-term cost savings already promised to the City. |
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MCA Awards 2008 - Finalist - International Category - Reducing Poverty in Leningrad Oblast
Between 2003 and 2007, Atos Consulting led a £5-million programme for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to reduce poverty in Leningrad Oblast. As a result 360,000 people have been lifted out of poverty – 22% of the Oblast’s population.. Read More...
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MCA Platinum Award 2007 - Overall Winner for Balkans Justice progamme
Atos Consulting was named the overall winner (Platinum Award) in the 2007 MCA Management Awards for its work with the Department for International Development (DFID) to restore confidence in the Security and Justice systems in the Balkans challenges. Read More...
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